Yezhibaba Rides Tonight

Question: You mention in the Slav sidebar that STs can use the Scion: Companion if they did decide to create a Scion of Baba Yaga, but a lot of the purviews & associated Attributes still seem to contradict the actual myths of Baba Yaga. Seriously, Animal (Chicken)?

We're not going to lie here. We really hate the Slavic material in Scion: Companion.

It's not really the fault of the writers. Slavic mythology is very difficult to find good material on in English; there's a ton of misinformation and modern pagan invention out there muddying up the waters, and since most of the Slavic material was written as example fluff for pantheon-building rather than as a proper pantheon, it probably wasn't a project that had a lot of deep research go into it. There's also the issue of the writers being forced to follow the previously released god-awful adventure in Scion: Demigod, and of the restrictions of the Soviet pantheon in the same supplement forcing a lot of modern imagery and ideas onto the Slavic gods. In short, it's a hot mess that we're not sure anyone could have done a lot better with.

But, like most of the inaccurate writeups, odd fringe god-choices and PSP-clearly-based-on-a-Neil-Gaiman-novel stuff surrounding Scion's "official" treatment of the Slavs, Baba Yaga's writeup and stats in Companion (page 243) really don't make a lot of sense. A lot of her fluff is actually great stuff pulled straight from folklore, but she's been shoehorned into the miserable mess of the Soviet pantheon with a bunch of other figures that she doesn't really belong with, and whomever statted her was clearly just on a mission to give her as many associated powers as possible. Animal (Chicken) is perhaps the most ludicrous choice, and is probably there solely because her hut has chicken feet, but since Baba Yaga herself is horrible but not distinctly poultry-esque, the association is wildly sketchy. Similarly, the association of her with Sky is probably because of her habit of flying about in a mortar and pestle, but since she has little to nothing to do with weather, storms or the air itself, that looks like a pretty clear case of a magical flying relic, not a purview. Baba Yaga's name might be obscurely etymologically connected to a term for illness, but while she does occasionally seem to have connotations of disease, the association is much too light to hand her The Scourge. And while we get the Epic Appearance for her horrible visage, what's with giving the hag who can be outsmarted by normal mortals Ultimate Intelligence?

Basically, we suggested that Storytellers could use the writeup for Baba Yaga in Companion if they wanted to because we strive to keep our new pantheon supplements as compatible with the official material in the books as possible, so that players who don't use our crazy sprawling set of custom rules and powers can get as much use out of them as those who do. We didn't want to do a whole new writeup of Baba Yaga as a playable goddess because the official books already include one, and it seemed most fair to direct people there if they wanted to use it.

But yeah, our recommendation would be to not use it, or at the least to edit it until it makes enough sense to be used.

The Bogovi supplement's writeup on Baba Yaga (on page 30, for those interested) sets her as a Legend 11 goddess and therefore not a traditional choice for a divine parent; her Legend was certainly strong enough to survive to the present day, but she's remembered as a folkloric witch figure and has lost her once-divine background whereas the other Slavic gods are at least still considered deities, so it seemed appropriate to set her slightly below them. You could make the argument, however, that while the other Bogovi are remembered as gods, they have far fewer tales spun about their deeds than does Baba Yaga, so we could definitely see a Storyteller deciding to run with her as Legend 12.

If you did decide to run Baba Yaga as a divine parent, try this associated setup on for size: Manipulation for her powers of bewitchery, Appearance for her terrible visage, Magic for her skill with curses and enchantments and Psychopomp for her role as keeper of the borders between worlds. You might also consider Wits, which she sometimes demonstrates in her ability to snare her prey through quick thinking despite being demonstrably not overly bright, or Strength, for the stories of her ironclad grip and terrible physical prowess. Companion also suggests Chaos, which, while not one we would have chosen out of the hat, probably makes more sense than everything else it suggests. For abilities, I'd suggest Animal Ken, Athletics, Fortitude, Occult, Presence Survival. Or, if you're feeling particularly whimsical, Control (Mortar & Pestle).

Grigori Rides Again

Question: "We're always willing to talk about more Slavic creatures! If there are specific ones you're interested in, hit us anytime." Quoting what you just said, I'd like to know your take on to these critters (I know, it's a 3x1 question!): Baba Yaga, Koschei the Deathless,and Rasputin. I can find very little about Koschei, but some decent stories which involve Baba Yaga. As for Rasputin, most people know him and his story. What do you think they are in the Scionverse?

Well, good news! Two of those fine figures already have writeups from us floating around on the internet, though since they aren't consolidated it's no wonder you didn't find them on first look. Baba Yaga appears in our Slavic pantheon supplement as a goddess antagonist, with a full writeup on page 30 and a description of her home, Domkura, on page 19. Koschei the Deathless does not appear in the supplement proper, but since you're not the first to ask about him, there's actually a writeup of him in an old blog post over here.

As for Rasputin, he doesn't really fit in the same category as the other two; he's an extremely modern figure compared to the old folklore of Baba Yaga and Koschei the Deathless, and his legends, such as they are, are very minor. The most popular of these, the idea that he cursed or otherwise contributed to the fall of the Romanov dynasty in Russia, is a mostly western story that doesn't match up to the generally benevolent view of him in Russia as a holy man or a mystic (blame Don Bluth for that one - Anastasia is a fun movie for kids, but it's about as accurately Russian as my sock drawer).

If you're interested in using Rasputin as a personage in Scion, I'd suggest that his powers of sight and healing suggest that he was probably a Scion, though it's unlikely that he was higher than Legend 4 at the most since most of his fabled powers (identifying thieves, healing wounds, being immune to poison, etc.) are distinctly low-level. If he was a Scion, his origin is a very interesting question to ponder, considering that the Slavic gods' ban on any interaction with humanity, including creating Scions, would have been in effect at this time; why someone would have flouted the rule and how much of it they got away with is an intriguing question. It's also possible that he could have been a lesser immortal with a vested interest in the Russian rulership, possibly a small spirit or demon of the land that escaped the Bogovi's notice. In either case, one wonders about his strong espousement of the Russian Orthodox Church - hardly something someone with Piety would be doing, you'd think.

He's quite dead, of course, so unless you have a really great reason for someone to have resurrected him for your plot, he's more of a curious footnote than someone I'd seriously consider in play. But hey, depending on your plot, he certainly could still be around if his death was faked or a death god took a liking to him. My favorite idea for Rasputin involves using him as a ghostly guide for a Slavic Scion - all the fun of his murky urban legends and questionable background in one convenient place!